Senior White Two said, “As long as you can tell me a joke that makes me laugh, you will pass this test. I’ve stretched the rules so many times already. Therefore, you must have surely looked for quite a few jokes after going back the last time, right?”

“…” Song Shuhang.

After seeing that Song Shuhang didn’t reply, Senior White Two slightly furrowed his brows. “What? Even this time, you didn’t look for any jokes? Is it possible that you didn’t even bother keeping in mind the fact that I’ve asked you to tell me a joke the next time we met?”

Song Shuhang quickly replied, “Ahem. Actually, Senior White, I was just looking for some jokes when you pulled me here!”

“Good, I believe you. Therefore, quickly tell me a joke,” Senior White Two said.

“The problem is that those few jokes I’ve found weren’t any good, and it’s better not to mention them at all. If I were to tell bring them up, you would probably beat me to death,” Song Shuhang replied honestly. Since things had reached this point, he could only make a clean breast of his crimes and tell Senior White Two the truth. Given the circumstances, it was better if he could use something else to carry out this exchange, just as he did the previous times.

“I would probably beat you to death if you were to bring up these jokes? This sounds interesting…” Senior White Two pondered for a moment, and then said, “In that case, why don’t you try to tell me these jokes and see what happens? If you can really make me feel the impulse to beat you to death, I will give you a pass this time as well.”

Ah? Making Senior White Two feel the impulse to beat him to death? That wasn’t really that difficult to achieve!

Song Shuhang opened his mouth and said, “Hehe, when your hair reaches… beep, beep, beep~”

The following part was immediately censored.

“If you want to die that much, I can make your wish come true, little friend Song Shuhang,” Senior White Two said with a smile. “In addition, I’ve told you to tell me a joke, not to take a jab at my black history.”

“Actually, I’ve always found that story rather funny,” Song Shuhang said earnestly. “In any case, Senior White, you felt the impulse to ‘beat me to death’ earlier, didn’t you? Therefore, I win, and I’ll gladly accept that piece of information related to the life and death of the scholarly faction!”

“…” Senior White Two.

“Senior White, is it possible that you want to go back on your word?” Song Shuhang added.

“Hehehe.” Senior White Two said, “Alright, there is no harm in telling you… both the Sinful Black Lotus in the Netherworld Realm and the Virtuous Golden Lotus in the scholarly faction have the power to create a ‘small world’ in the place they are located. I’ve already confirmed the truthfulness of this information.”

“They can really create a small world? But isn’t that a good thing? That thousands-of-years-old wish of the scholarly faction will finally come true…” Song Shuhang said. When he took possession of that rune earlier, he heard the conversation between the old scholar and the golden lotus. The scholars nurtured the Virtuous Golden Lotus so that it could create an autonomous world where the scholarly disciples could reside. From now on, the scholarly faction would stop being at the receiving end in this war against the forces of the Netherworld Realm. They would be able to attack and retreat as they wished.

However, Song Shuhang’s voice suddenly stiffened. “Wait a moment, this news is related to the life and death of the scholarly faction, right? In that case, are there some hidden dangers in the world of the golden lotus? Or perhaps there is some connection between the world of the black lotus and that of the golden lotus, and it’s possible to destroy the world of the golden lotus through the world of the black lotus?”

Senior White Two replied, “It’s not as exaggerated as you might think. However, there is indeed a connection between the world of the black lotus and that of the golden lotus, and through a certain method, it’s possible to enter the world of the golden lotus through the world of the black lotus.”

Song Shuhang sighed. If that was the case, this world of the golden lotus belonging to the scholarly faction was an extremely dangerous place.

“But even more importantly, a certain guy in the Netherworld Realm that isn’t any weaker than me is planning to use the world of the Sinful Black Lotus as a springboard and jump into the world of the Virtuous Golden Lotus. That’s the real great calamity that the scholarly faction will soon face,” Senior White Two added.

“A guy that isn’t any weaker than Senior White? Senior White, are you very strong?” Song Shuhang asked thoughtlessly. But right after saying these words, he wished he could give himself a slap. This illness about being too straightforward would break out whenever he thought he had managed to subdue it, making him suffer the pain of relapse again.

“Hehe.” Senior White Two gently laughed.

“Ahem, about that… Senior White, what I meant to ask you was, how strong are you exactly?” Song Shuhang quickly corrected his words.

It wasn’t too late to quickly take action to prevent further losses.

“Hehe, if you really want to know the answer to this question… I’ll make an example. If I were to jump into the world of the Virtuous Golden Lotus from the world of the Sinful Black Lotus, I would need a single hand to completely annihilate the scholarly faction. All their members—from young to old, from human to beast—all their magical treasures, and even buildings would disappear without a trace,” Senior White Two said indifferently.

“Only one hand?” Song Shuhang secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

“Yes, one hand is enough. No need to bother the other one,” Senior White Two said.

Song Shuhang immediately felt his legs becoming soft. Senior White Two’s battle prowess seemed much higher than Venerable White’s. As if that wasn’t enough, he had been blatantly seeking death in front of Senior White Two just now… Senior White Two wasn’t going to casually crush him to death with his finger, right?

“Are you scared now that you know the truth?” Senior White Two said with a laugh.

“Wait, I remembered that you are actually unable to come out of the Netherworld Realm!” Song Shuhang suddenly remembered about this point.

“Hehe, aren’t you forgetting about the connection between the world of the Sinful Black Lotus and that of the Virtuous Golden Lotus? If that guy that isn’t any weaker than me succeeds, I can also try to find a similar method to leave the Netherworld Realm,” Senior White Two reminded.

“Senior White, is it too late for me to repent for my sins?” Song Shuhang asked with a serious expression on his face.

“That’s why you should tell me a funny joke. If you tell me a funny joke or a joke that makes me want to kill you, I’ll send you out of this ‘infinite make-up test dimension’. That’s how you call this place anyway, right?” Senior White Two said.

After going round and round, they returned back to point zero.

Song Shuhang said, “Senior White, aren’t you interested in anything else aside from jokes? Can’t we carry out this exchange with something else?”

“In this life of mine, my greatest wish is to pass my days listening to jokes,” Senior White Two said with a calm expression on his face.

Your greatest wish is simply too shallow!

Do I really have no other choice but to tell Senior White a dirty joke?

I get the feeling that I’ll be beyond redemption if I open my mouth and tell him a dirty joke…

❄️❄️❄️

Just as he was in deep thought, Song Shuhang remembered about another important matter.

Therefore, he asked, “Senior White, you’ve told me this information related to the great calamity about to befall on the scholarly faction, but what am I supposed to do with it?”

The existence of the Virtuous Golden Lotus was the greatest secret in the White Cloud Academy, and the White Cloud Academy hadn’t told anyone about it.

Even if Song Shuhang got wind of the fact that there was a connection between the world of the Sinful Black Lotus and the world of the Virtuous Golden Lotus, how was he supposed to tell this information to the White Cloud Academy?

Should he tell them that there was a problem with their golden lotus and that the small world born from it would have a direct connection with the Sinful Black Lotus in the Netherworld Realm?

But if he were to proceed this way, he would first have to explain to the scholarly faction from where he’d obtained this news that the golden lotus could create a world. As if that wasn’t enough, the scholars had been waiting for this day for several thousand years already, and they wouldn’t give up on their plan to create this new world just because he’d obtained this information and told them to do so.

“Hehe, you’ve finally asked a good question,” Senior White Two said. “Since I bothered to look for you, it means that I have a way to resolve this situation. Even if I’m not sure if it will succeed, it’s still worth giving a try.”

“Senior White, please tell me what I have to do,” Song Shuhang said.

“I have a certain method at my disposal. You have to study it and then head to the world of the golden lotus and use this method to leave your personal mark there. At that time, you’ll become the owner of that world, capable of stopping that guy planning to use the world of the Sinful Black Lotus as a springboard and enter into the world of the Virtuous Golden Lotus,” Senior White Two said.

Song Shuhang forced a smile, and said, “But how am I supposed to enter the world of the golden lotus? In addition, can I even become the owner of that world with my current level of strength? Even if I manage to become the owner of the world, will I have enough to power to repel that person that wants to barge into the world of the golden lotus?”

After all, he wasn’t a scholarly disciple, and it was unlikely that the scholarly faction would allow him to enter the world of the Virtuous Golden Lotus with such short notice.

Senior White Two shrugged his shoulders, and said, “That’s something you will have to deal with on your own.”

He could only help them up to this point. Just like he’d said earlier to the ball of liquid metal, whether the opposite party failed or succeeded, it didn’t really matter to him.

❄️❄️❄️

Song Shuhang pondered for a moment, and then asked, “Senior White, after learning this method you’ve mentioned, can I teach it to another person, a scholarly disciple for example?”

The world of the golden lotus was something that the scholarly faction obtained after nurturing the Virtuous Golden Lotus for thousands of years. Therefore, it was inappropriate for Song Shuhang to become the owner of that world. If possible, it was better to leave the task to the scholarly disciples themselves.

“That’s up to you. I’m doing this only because it requires no effort from me, and it’s none of my business how you plan to stop that guy,” Senior White Two said indifferently.

Afterward, Senior White Two taught Song Shuhang how to leave a personal mark in the world of the golden lotus. The method wasn’t really complex, and one only had to assume various postures and revolve the true qi and spiritual energy inside their body according to a particular pattern, ultimately transforming it into a mark that they would leave in the world of the golden lotus. In other words, it was no different than dancing.

Senior White Two looked incredibly handsome while dancing.

However, not even Senior White Two was completely sure if this method was going to work. He saw the ball of liquid metal using this method to leave behind its mark in the world of the black lotus. Theoretically speaking, if this method could be used to leave a mark in the world of the black lotus, it should also work to leave a mark in the world of the golden lotus.

“If it doesn’t work, you can try to display the moves of this dance in the opposite order,” Senior White Two said.

“…” Song Shuhang.

These casual remarks are just making the credibility of this method drop!

“Very well. I’ve already told you what I wanted to tell you, and I’ve taught you what I wanted to teach you. In any case, there is not much time left… in the Netherworld Realm, that other guy that isn’t any weaker than me has already left its mark in the world of the black lotus. If you are a tad slower, and the world of the golden lotus blooms, that guy will be able to jump into it from the Netherworld Realm. At that time, everything you do will be useless,” Senior White Two said.

“In that case, I’ll immediately head back,” Song Shuhang said with a nod.

“Hmm… aren’t you forgetting something? If you want to leave, you have to tell me a joke that either makes me laugh or makes me want to kill you. Both are fine,” Senior White Two said.

“…” Song Shuhang.

“The clock is ticking,” Senior White Two said while floating in the air. “Perhaps these few minutes will make the difference and determine whether or not you can make it in time to help the scholarly faction. You should think it through.”

❄️❄️❄️

There was no way Song Shuhang would tell a dirty joke in front of Senior White Two. Luckily, he had a sudden inspiration, and remembered about a certain interesting topic of conversation from long ago.

“Senior White, if you really want me to tell you a joke, I’ll have no other choice but to do so.” After saying this much with a serious expression on his face, Song Shuhang asked, “Senior White, what does one ‘Little White’ plus another ‘Little White’ equal to?”

“…” Senior White Two.

Which part of this was funny?

But after seeing Song Shuhang’s serious expression, he went along and replied, “Fine, it’s equal to ‘2 Little Whites’.”

“Congratulations… but your answer is incorrect!” Song Shuhang said smugly. “The correct answer was ‘Little White Rabbit’.”

“…” Senior White Two asked, “What’s the logic behind this?”

“One Little White plus another Little White is equal to ‘Little White x2’, which is also equal to ‘Little White Two’. This ‘two’ I’m talking about is the word for the number 2 in another language of the main world, the English language. The word ‘two’ is read as ‘tu’ in Mandarin, and the sound is the same as the character for rabbit (兔). As such, the correct answer was ‘Little White Rabbit’!”

Senior White Two held in his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

After a short moment he finally understood the joke, and said, “Ahaha, that was interesting.”

“Indeed! How was it? It was funny, right?” Song Shuhang asked expectantly.

“Just now, I indeed had the slight impulse to slap you. Therefore, you pass,” Senior White Two said as he waved his hand.

Song Shuhang’s consciousness immediately returned to the real world.

❄️❄️❄️

Upon returning, he’d discovered that he was lying on a bench. Yu Jiaojiao and Su Clan’s Sixteen were sitting not too far from him, and were discussing in a low voice about some interesting matter.

After discovering that was Song Shuhang was now awake, Su Clan’s Sixteen turned her head around, and said, “Shuhang, you are awake.”

Song Shuhang sighed with emotion, and said, “Yes… even this time, I managed to get out of that place.”

“Did you have to tell a joke to that senior whose name can’t be mentioned this time too?” Yu Jiaojiao asked.

Song Shuhang forced a smile and nodded.

“In that case, which dirty joke did you tell to that senior?” Yu Jiaojiao asked, looking very interested.

“Jiaojiao, don’t indulge in flights of fancy!” Song Shuhang sighed. “I didn’t tell him any ‘dirty joke’. I had a sudden inspiration and thought of a brain teaser, and made a narrow escape thanks to that. Anyway, it’s not the time to discuss this matter. Where are Senior White and the others?”

“The disciples of the scholarly faction invited Senior White to some mysterious place. From the looks of it, they’ve asked him to join an important event of the scholarly faction,” Su Clan’s Sixteen said. Then, she added via secret sound transmission, “I think that important event of the scholarly faction might be related to the Virtuous Golden Lotus.”